Three notes and a quote: Miss. State vs. Texas A&M

STARKVILLE – Gavin Ware got cranked up early and had his best offensive outing in weeks.
The freshman center scored 14 points, his most yet in SEC play, in Mississippi State’s 55-49 overtime loss to Texas A&M. Ware made 6 of 11 shots, although he and Roquez Johnson missed some point-blank shots late in the game.
After scoring in single digits in each of his first four SEC games, Ware is averaging 11.7 points over the last three.
The 6-foot-9, 270-pound Ware had six points and two dunks during a 10-0 MSU run in the first half. In the second half, he threw another one down for a 42-41 lead.

More foul trouble
Foul trouble again plagued Craig Sword. The freshman guard was limited to four minutes in the first half because of it, and at one point he was subbed out for little-used walk-on Baxter Price.
Sword, whose six foulouts lead the SEC, finished with three fouls and eight points in 24 minutes. His 3-pointer late in regulation forced overtime.

Player of the gameGavin Ware got MSU’s post game going, which is an encouraging sign for this team.

Quotable
“Once he gets going, he gets going. I was putting pressure on him time after time after time.” – MSU guard Jalen Steele, on Texas A&M’s Elston Turner

Next game
MSU closes out its three-game homestand Saturday against LSU (4:30 p.m., FSN).